If you know even the littlest bit about train travel, then you've probably heard of both the Orient Express and the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Both luxury trains associated with the gilded age, they are now shadows of their former selves, carrying fannypacked tourists on shorter or altered routes instead of the evening gown-wearing, long cigarette-smoking moneyed classes who indulged in a leisurely trip between Paris and Istanbul, or through Mongolia and into Moscow.

Luckily for those who have romanticized these luxury trains, there is a country that still embraces the idea: India. In the new few months, two new opulent trains will launch on routes that aim to cover some of the most famous sites in India, including the Taj Mahal and Varanasi of course. Per person, per night prices for the trips—the shortest trip being a week—begin at a staggering $500. But you'll be getting your money back in spades with these choo-choos... ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-29T08:59:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/16/16354/924

While we're busy being happy for the winner of the CN Traveler Awards, plenty of other airlines around the world have news of their own, and mainly in the new routes area. For those of you chilling around Asia like our own Claire Duffett, here's the need-to-know new routes coming your way:

· Air Asia begins low-cost direct flights from their base in Kuala Lumpur to Calcutta, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in India in November. One-way flights (including tax) begin as low as $32, and these new routes compliment Air Asia's current India destination of Trichy, effectively quadrupling their Indian routes. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-16T16:43:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/13/17038/062

Keshav Kaushik, a lacto-vegetarian who abstains from meat and eggs, boarded an Indian Airlines flight in February of 2003. He informed the air-hostess about his dietary preferences and she indicated understanding. Despite this, a cake that Kaushik was served had a piece of egg shell. Hilarity failed to ensue and the case has been making its way through the Indian court system ever since:

The passenger became nauseous and also fell unconscious. The flying staff and other fellow passenger rendered necessary help and after disembarking at Delhi airport he lodged a complaint with the consumer court. Kaushik further alleged in his complaint that 35 days after the incident he suffered haemorrhage in the abdomen and had to be hospitalized to undergo surgery.

]]> Omri 2009-10-13T17:43:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/12/23328/087

Has Kanye West been reading Eat, Pray, Love lately? It's been reported that the megalomaniacal star is considering going on retreat in India, to an ashram in Pondicherry to "reassess life."

After his famous interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV video music awards last month, and the open liquor-swilling and outlandish behavior he exhibited in the front row and on the red carpet at the same event, it seems like Kanye is overdue for such a calming vacation. Ashrams are however designed for lengthy stays, without contact with most of the outside world and devoid of all the luxurious comforts that Kanye enjoys. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-13T09:18:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/5/2558/88297

We tend to think of Paris or Florence as the places to go for an art hit, but India's largest city Mumbai might be the up-and-coming spot. A new art gallery has just opened there and wants to start showing off India's huge art tradition to the world.

The Gallery BMB is one of the first new galleries in India for a long time—the few that do exist are mostly from British colonial times—but the directors predict it will be the first of many more. It will showcase art from international artists as well as encourage emerging Indian artists to make a name for themselves. ]]> amandak 2009-10-09T13:09:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/29/104753/214

Filming the movie version of the popular book Eat, Pray, Love, Julia Roberts has been all over the world. Now that she's moved on to the "pray" portion in India, a closed set hasn't been easy. As they shoot in the town of Mirzapur, south of New Delhi, Roberts has been hounded by everything from paparazzi to gawking townspeople to—and these won't relent—asses.

Donkeys interrupted filming the other day when, during a scene, they wouldn't stop braying. Stupid asses, making noise about celebrities trying to work. Don't they know who Julia Roberts is? ]]> JetSetCD 2009-09-29T12:08:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/14/43128/9675

India's third largest airline Jet Airways has been going through some troubled times lately. From selling off planes to fight economic woes and having to cut prices by 40% to try and get some more passengers on board, they have drawn the short straw in terms of airline luck this year.

Now their latest drama has involved a sustained campaign by pilots to call in sick. From last Tuesday, more than half of the airline's pilots said they were unable to fly due to illness—their version of striking, since the rules forbid them from striking without giving management sufficient advance warning. The reason for the "strike" is that four pilots were sacked after asking the management to recognize the union they'd formed.]]> amandak 2009-09-15T09:13:53-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/